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11.30.2012

thanks for being the best boss a chicka could ask for. Two summers working with you were the two best summer of my life! Youre one of my favorite people. Incredibly talented, always fashion forward (the apron look is the best), so kind, not to mention hilarious, youre wise, you know how to push people towards their potential...and I am so EXCITED THAT YOURE ABOUT TO BE A WIFE! How cool! and to none other than Mustache mike! Holly you were the best boss ive had and I am so excited to share in this day with you (on my 21st birthday non the less!)

11.28.2012

//in the light of your son, I find its not what i've done,for you have overcomegrace i couldn't afford, your love has opened the door,
now my hope is secure
in the light of the dawn, my praise will go on,
forever you'll be my song
love i couldnt deny, you have opened my eyes,
brought me into your light
you are faithful, always faithful to me, youre faithful to me
as surely as the morning sun will rise, youre faithful to me.
thought at times i dont see, my heart will believe, that youre the maker of all things
faith has a hold on my view, my understanding renewed, youre the hope I cling to
and you are faithful, always faithful to me//

11.26.2012

Claire is a gymnast. she is so petite, grew up as a MK in Mexico, and is so sweet.

introducing our mode of transportation, this gem of a van properly named - Esteban.

the vans are locked and loaded.

Kelsey filling our water Igloos.

getting our gear ready for our first day of service.

Katelyn and Eric. It was HOT in mexico. sweating already and this was at 8am.

"tent city" everyone sleeps within 3ft of eachother.

the buildings were in pretty bad condition so we spent most of the day scraping off paint.

now, everytime I see paint chipping off a building I want to scrape it off.

getting creative.

the school's field

the walls before we got started.

ta-dahh!

Jason and Christa. Jason is the one that reminds me of D SO MUCH.

its kind of eerie how similar they are!

sharing about Jesus.

my friend Sean is our school mascot and came down to mexico to play his role in putting some smiles on kids faces. they LOVED it.

finished walls!

nice and clean.

please notice the state my hands are in. ewwwww

and to end...we ate the best tacos I have ever had. It may have been my hunger. or the fact that I knew I was in mexico where they know how to make tacos. either way, it was the best way to end the trip. we all sat around and affirmed one another (my team of 7) of qualities we saw in eachother this week and just shared really encouraging words. It was awesome.

and here is a bit of what I wrote in an email to my family earlier today...explaining our trip..

alright lets see..so about 300 APU people were down in Mexicali on a total of about 25 teams. There were a couple orphanage teams, a mens prison, a womens prison, womens shelter, about 10 medical teams that did clinics, and my team which focused on community service in which we painted a really run down middle school. 5 days full of scraping paint in the 80degree weather, meeting new people, trying to communicate with kids when we dont speak the same language, sleeping in a tent, trying to not get dehydrated, working with some really cool fellow peers of mine, and just spending time doing the Lord's work! It was awesome.

Every morning we woke up at 630am to get a quick breakfast at 7, head to a leaders meeting, have chapel at 8am then head to our site. The speaker for the week was a man named Luke Everett. Get this - he's about 80 percent deaf, maybe more, but can speak perfectly well (crazy) and is a missionary down in Ensenada Mexico. He basically finds Mexican kinds who are deaf and frustrated because they dont have a language, brings them to his families ranch/camp, teaches them to sign and introduces them to Jesus. His ministry is awesome and he had an incredible testimony to tell. He spoke on God's provision when you are in His will...and how pumped he is to one day see Jesus in heaven and smile at all the people that have passed on this earth to be with Jesus. Really really cool and inspiring.

well..back to our service project. We painted 4 building at this really really run down middle school. It's crazy, something like that would NEVER fly in the states. or at least where we are from. But to these kids, thats school. 4 really crappy buildings with paint chipping off everywhere, one basketball hoop, 2 posts as a soccer goal and a playground that bumps right up to a dump yard. We had the help of a lot of other teams throughout the week...they would come in shifts of about 30 people to help us get this project done and we got the whole thing painted and cleaned! But what was cool about it...was that through painting and scraping and all that we did...these kids took notice. On our second day there all of the kids were at school, about 100...and the principal actually decided to cancel class so we could run a short VBS with them. My friend Lauren shared her testimony in spanish...and we prayed over all their hearts that they would know JEsus. The main guy of mexico outreach, his name is Israel, he said nothing like that has ever happened...stopping school to learn about Jesus. so cool.

11.25.2012

Got back from Mexico earlier today.
what a trip.
5 days without a shower. Re-painted a super run down middle school. Saw what the Lord is doing down in Mexicali. Was blown away by His grace, power and miracles!
I'll post more photos soon. For now...sleeeeeeep. Its about to be the craziest next 2 weeks.
Lord I need you!

11.18.2012

On wednesday I head off to Mexico with school, there are around 300 of us going down there to love on our brothers and sisters down in Esenada and I am pumped! This past weekend was so great. Thursday we sat out at the soccer game (my new favorite sport to watch) and even though the boys lost, we still had a good time cheering them on. Right after that Nati and I had to get dressed up in our "grown-up" gear for our mock-interview presentation. It went pretty well, and it helps that my professor is the nicest woman ever! Then, headed home Friday to have lunch with the good ol Nomiooo and Dresser met up with us after. Then..LAKER GAME. finally a win. We got bobble heads in honor of Kareem's statue revealing. Love going to games with Dad. AND on top of all of that, grandma made me a scarf!! She is so incredibly talented and I love it so much!

well...what ahead on my planner is of course, Mexico...then turning 21 at attending Holly's wedding, then making sure I get all of these assignments done! Praise be to God that HE reigns over all of that. Amen? amen.

*ps my blog is whack and i dont know how to get the pics to stay in the right spots. hha oh well.

11.14.2012

Grandma has inspired me to knit.
she is an amazing seamstress and knitter.
she's known for her quilted blankets, bags, pillow cases, beanies, scarves, you name it.
so thanks to grandpa i've begun to knit.
I still need to learn from her the proper techniques, the patterns, how you end a scarf, etc.
so for now i'm just practicing on knitting needles i bought for $4 at walmart.
we'll see where it goes.
for now, all I want to do is cuddle up on the couch, turn on HGTV, and knit.

11.07.2012

"Clean house. time passes. there are deaths. there are births. there are weddings. birthdays. anniversaries. new houses. new friends. time passes. as much as its strange to move on, its strikingly exciting. In the midst of a new era, the start to a new chapter, youre afraid, hesitant - yet there is something beautiful about a clean house. a fresh start. a new way of seeing things. more dates on the calendar. more days in the office. more boxes to check off on your lists. more pots of coffee to make and cakes to consume. time passes. Yet - one thing stays constant. One thing stays constant through war, through tears, through hugs, through fights, awards, graduations, break-ups, through money, jobs, through family matter, through fears, through time. we serve an eternal God. He exists outside of time. outside of memories. outside of death. birth. outside of fears. yet He lives in each of our hearts. He is right there. dont you feel it? every breath. He's right there. breathe. He is still there. always. eternal."
-for Gpa H. love you. miss you.

11.06.2012

Our home is quite cozy. I'm bummed grandpa isnt here to read this post, I think he would have really loved seeing pictures of what my house at school looks like. So this post is dedicated to him. For being the number one fan of my blog! haha.

So...here's a peak into my life in the nest :)

we love our brussel sprouts.

Natty sue made us puppy chow. yummm

the view from our dining room.

one of the rules of living on campus is that you can't have candles.

so the moment we moved off campus...we went candle crazy!

we always joke that this part of our house really makes us look like a family hah.

the baby clothes are for our neighbor who just had a baby boy, and the monkey..? idk?

nati jane got a steal on this rug. around $50 from rose bowl flea market.

the best nap spot.

we each have half of a shelf for food.

most of these are mine. oops

with a house of 8, you need to be organized.

last year we got these chairs FO FREE. the best.

Here are all my beautiful roommates...in their natural habitat :)

The nest has been such a blessing. It's incredible. The coziness, the love,

the fellowship, the conversations, the food, the sisterhood, the laughs...

I know i'm going to remember the things that happen within these walls forever and

I am just so thankful to be able to share it with these beautiful women.